Sparta began as a small city state with five villages. It later grew into a larger one by first gobbling up surrounding villages and then conquering neighboring large states and eventually claiming nearly all the Peloponnese, and enslaving many of the people that lived there to acquire land.
Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates (Spartan citizens, who enjoyed full rights), Mothakes (non-Spartan, free men raised as Spartans), Perioikoi (free, but non-citizen inhabitants), and Helots (state-owned serfs, part of the enslaved, non-Spartan, local population).
10 Things You Didn't Know About SpartaThe first female Olympic victor was Spartan. ... 298, rather than 300, Spartans, died at Thermopylae. ... The Spartans enslaved an entire population, the Helots. ... Spartan hoplites probably didn't have lambdas on their shields. ... They used iron rods, rather than coins, as currency.More items...
Sparta Life The population of Sparta consisted of three main groups: the Spartans, or Spartiates, who were full citizens; the Helots, or serfs/slaves; and the Perioeci, who were neither slaves nor citizens.
Like the comic book, the “300” takes inspirations from the real Battle of Thermopylae and the events that took place in the year of 480 BC in ancient Greece. An epic movie for an epic historical event. However, how close was the movie to the actual events and characters?
Sparta (Greek: Σπάρτη Spárti [ˈsparti]) is a city and municipality in Laconia, Greece. It lies at the site of ancient Sparta. The municipality was merged with six nearby municipalities in 2011, for a total population (as of 2011) of 35,259, of whom 17,408 lived in the city....Sparta, Laconia.Sparta ΣπάρτηWebsitewww.sparti.gr25 more rows
Archeologically, Sparta itself begins to show signs of settlement only around 1000 BC, some 200 years after the collapse of Mycenaean civilization.
Acronym. Definition. SpARTA. Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act (USA)
Bearing and raising children was considered the most important role for women in Spartan society; equal to male warriors in the Spartan army. Spartan women were encouraged to produce many children, preferably male, to increase Sparta's military population. They took pride in having borne and raised brave warriors.
Sparta had a highly unusual system of government. Two kings ruled the city, but a 28-member 'council of elders' limited their powers. These men were recruited from the highest social class, the aristocratic Spartiates.
Legend dates the founding of the city to Mycenean times, when the legendary King Menelaus, who helped defeat Troy, supposedly ruled the city. Archaeologists put the date of its origin later, around 1000 BC, when a tribe called the Dorians migrated to the region.
Sparta was an oligarchy. The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the Agiad and Eurypontid families, both supposedly descendants of Heracles and equal in authority, so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his colleague.
The Greek city-state of Sparta had three social classes: the native Spartans, the free foreigners, and the Helots, a class of enslaved people in this society.
Sparta was an oligarchy. The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the Agiad and Eurypontid families, both supposedly descendants of Heracles and equal in authority, so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his colleague.
Sparta had a highly unusual system of government. Two kings ruled the city, but a 28-member 'council of elders' limited their powers. These men were recruited from the highest social class, the aristocratic Spartiates.
Athenian society was composed of four main social classes - slaves, metics (non-citizen freepersons), women, and citizens, but within each of these broad classes were several sub-classes (such as the difference between common citizens and aristocratic citizens).
The historical name of Sparta is Lacedaemon. It was the ancient capital of the Laconia district of the southeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Along with...
The Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), one of the battles in the Greco-Persian Wars, revealed the magnitude of Athenian naval power and set in motion the...
The present-day city was built in 1834 on the ancient site. It is called Néa (New) Spartí locally to distinguish it from the ruins that were excava...
Leonidas was a Spartan king whose stand against the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece is one of the enduring tales...
Spartan society was separated into social classes , and conquered people were not given political rights or citizenship. Even lower than the conquered population was a group called the helots. Helots were responsible for agricultural duties and other day-to-day tasks that supported the Spartans.
Two kings from two different families ruled Sparta. This ensured that when one king ventured out on a military campaign the other could continue to rule the city.
However, in 480 B.C.E., Sparta allied with Athens, to prevent the Persian king Xerxes from invading Greece. Not long after, however, the two cities began fighting each other in the two Peloponnesian Wars (460 to 446 B.C.E. and 431 to 404 B.C.E.) and the Corinthian War (396 to 387 B.C.E.).
Sparta grew to rival the size of the city-states Athens and Thebes by subjugating its neighboring region of Messenia. Though Sparta absorbed this population, it did not integrate the conquered people into society.
Military activity was essential to Sparta. At the age of seven, boys left home to begin training at a military academy called an agoge (a-go-je). At the academy, the boys lived communally with others in their age group. This was meant to prepare them for life in the army. Soldiers were trained as hoplites, or heavily armed foot soldiers. The Spartan army was known for its skill in on-land combat.
loosely united civilization founded on and around the Peloponnese peninsula, lasting from about the 8th century BCE to about 200 BCE.
The historical name of Sparta is Lacedaemon. It was the ancient capital of the Laconia district of the southeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Along with the surrounding area, it forms the perifereiakí enótita (regional unit) of Laconia (Modern Greek: Lakonía) within the Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos) periféreia (region). The city lies on the right bank of the Evrótas Potamós (river).
Reputedly founded in the 9th century bce with a rigid oligarchic constitution, the state of Sparta for centuries retained as lifetime corulers two kings who arbitrated in time of war. In time of peace, power was concentrated in a Senate of 30 members. Between the 8th and 5th century bce, Sparta subdued Messenia, reducing the inhabitants to serflike status. From the 5th century the ruling class of Sparta devoted itself to war and diplomacy, deliberately neglecting the arts, philosophy, and literature, and forged the most powerful army standing in Greece.
In 396 ce the modest city was destroyed by the Visigoths. The Byzantines repopulated the site and gave it the ancient Homeric name Lacedaemon.
The Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), one of the battles in the Greco-Persian Wars, revealed the magnitude of Athenian naval power and set in motion the deadly struggle between the two powers. It resulted in the emergence of Sparta as the most powerful state in Greece.
When was present-day Sparta established? The present-day city was built in 1834 on the ancient site. It is called Néa (New) Spartí locally to distinguish it from the ruins that were excavated in 1906–10 and 1924–29. Who was Leonidas?
After 1204 the Franks built a new fortress city, Mistra, on a spur of the Taygetus range southwest of Sparta; after 1259 Mistra was capital of the Despotate of Morea (i.e., the Peloponnese) and flourished for about two centuries.
Leonidas was a Spartan king whose stand against the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece is one of the enduring tales of Greek heroism, invoked throughout Western history as the epitome of bravery exhibited against overwhelming odds.
Sparta, also known as Lacedaemon, was an ancient Greek city-state located primarily in the present-day region of southern Greece called Laconia . The population of Sparta consisted of three main groups: the Spartans, or Spartiates, who were full citizens; the Helots, or serfs/slaves; and the Perioeci, who were neither slaves nor citizens.
The Spartan Military. Spartan Women and Marriage. Decline of the Spartans. Sparta was a warrior society in ancient Greece that reached the height of its power after defeating rival city-state Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.). Spartan culture was centered on loyalty to the state and military service.
Spartans would humiliate the Helots by doing such things as forcing them to get debilitatingly drunk on wine and then make fools of themselves in public. (This practice was also intended to demonstrate to young people how an adult Spartan should never act, as self-control was a prized trait.) Methods of mistreatment could be far more extreme: Spartans were allowed to kill Helots for being too smart or too fit, among other reasons.
In part to attract mates, females engaged in athletic competitions, including javelin-throwing and wrestling, and also sang and danced competitively. As adults, Spartan women were allowed to own and manage property. Additionally, they were typically unencumbered by domestic responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning and making clothing, tasks which were handled by the helots.
The teenage boys who demonstrated the most leadership potential were selected for participation in the Crypteia, which acted as a secret police force whose primary goal was to terrorize the general Helot population and murder those who were troublemakers. At age 20, Spartan males became full-time soldiers, and remained on active duty until age 60.
Known as the Agoge, the system emphasized duty, discipline and endurance. Although Spartan women were not active in the military, they were educated and enjoyed more status and freedom than other Greek women. Because Spartan men were professional soldiers, all manual labor was done by a slave class, the Helots.
The Spartans’ constant military drilling and discipline made them skilled at the ancient Greek style of fighting in a phalanx formation. In the phalanx, the army worked as a unit in a close, deep formation, and made coordinated mass maneuvers. No one soldier was considered superior to another. Going into battle, a Spartan soldier, or hoplite, wore a large bronze helmet, breastplate and ankle guards, and carried a round shield made of bronze and wood, a long spear and sword. Spartan warriors were also known for their long hair and red cloaks.